Corrs In Brief: ACCC v Allergy Pathway

In a judgment with important implications for businesses which use social media to market themselves, the Federal Court has held a company and its sole director responsible for statements made by third parties on itsFacebook and Twitter pages.

The judgment, which Justice Finkelstein handed down on 10 February 2011, relates to contempt proceedings the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commenced against Allergy Pathway Pty Ltd (Allergy Pathway) and its sole director, Paul Keir (Keir).

Corrs acted for the ACCC in the contempt proceedings and in an earlier action the ACCC had brought against Allergy Pathway and Keir in which the Court found Allergy Pathway and Keir to have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (the Act).